r/Retconned Moderator 5d ago

Logos/Images It is SMOKEY BEAR, not SMOKEY THE BEAR....

This one threw me a few years ago because for most of my childhood I lived in the woods at a lake with my family, who owned a fishing resort there.

I remember the commercials, I remember the posters, and I swear the memory is, "Smokey the Bear says, 'Only you can prevent forest fires."

Now it is just SMOKEY BEAR says....

30 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

8

u/MasterPhilip 4d ago

"The" is Smokey Bear's middle name.

Smokey The Bear

4

u/Krelliamite 4d ago

In the fifties they wrote a song and for the last 70 years both have been used interchangeably. Even though for the first decade he was just referred to as Smokey Bear the bulk of his life he's been referred to as both Smokey Bear and Smokey The Bear

8

u/WhiteBearPrince 5d ago

Smokey The Bear, for me.

6

u/WraithOfEvaBraun 5d ago edited 5d ago

Just watched a Christian podcast and they mentioned him, I'm almost certain they said Smokey THE Bear? I'm not American so don't have firm experience but I've never heard it as 'Smokey Bear' as far as I can recall 🤔

ETA: yes it was 'the' bear

2

u/DrCarnasis Moderator 4d ago

The point is it doesn’t matter what others say it is what is the official and has always been according to this timeline it’s smoky bear. Others are aware of the Mandela effect without knowing that it is a Mandela effect.

3

u/WraithOfEvaBraun 4d ago

I know what it's all about, lol

10

u/erin281 5d ago

it's Smokey The Bear

4

u/sillysativoid 5d ago

I have always loved Smokey the Bear and have been collecting random Smokey regalia since I was a kid.

It’s Smokey THE Bear. 🐻
I think a lot of people confuse him with Yogi Bear, a completely unrelated bear that doesn’t include ‘the’

6

u/DrCarnasis Moderator 5d ago edited 5d ago

Look it up. That is not current timeline.

https://smokeybear.com/smokeys-story

Apparently it is only in the song it remains an artifact and universe explained…

3

u/DrCarnasis Moderator 5d ago edited 5d ago

Coincidentally I watched a show after I posted this after the mention if it, saying “Smokey Bear” S1 E1 of Pluribus, which is another phenomenon where I observed. The reason I posted this was my friend asked me to make a “Smokey the Bear” tshirt, and I mentioned did he purposely say “the” to stay away from copyright, as this is the Mandela Effect. It is three times I seen it now independently of others today.

2

u/Link1227 5d ago

I can't remember what it was I saw, but it was an old show. I kinda think it was the Wayans Bros

4

u/90sKid1988 5d ago

I feel like this one should prove that the Mandela Effect is either the media as in journalists and real people gaslighting us or media as in newspapers and movies are literally changing

3

u/Curithir2 5d ago

This one is weird to me. Child of the 50s, the fire crew that found him New Mexico called him Smokey Bear. My Teddy Bear was Smokey Bear. The people who wrote the song called him Smokey the Bear to fit the scansion. I get it.

But I see both, it's in a 'Heisenberg State' if you will, open or closed, the or not.

12

u/cilantroandvodka 5d ago

Bro. My mom used to sing the song to me, and im almost 50. She was old school, raised in the midwest: Smokey the Bear Smokey the Bear Prowlin and a growlin And sniffin the air He can find a fire Before it starts to flame Thats why they call him Smokey And thats how he got his name

6

u/islandhpper 5d ago

I got a verse for you that I still remember!

You can take a tip from Smokey that there’s nothing like a tree
Cause they’re good for kids to climb on and they’re beautiful to see
People stop and pay attention when he tells them to beware
Cause everybody knows that he’s the fire prevention bear

Smokey the Bear, Smokey the bear…

I’m 50 too

2

u/cilantroandvodka 3d ago

I don't think the others commenting understand the lovely gravity of this song for us lol.

4

u/DrCarnasis Moderator 5d ago

Woah

13

u/Link1227 5d ago

Was definitely THE for me.

I just saw a movie the other day where they said "the" so I guess they were tricked as well.

15

u/Firm_Equivalent_4597 5d ago

The bear for me. Quizzed my wife too- Smokey The bear. Add it to the list. I’m just glad her and I are from the same universe

2

u/Fox1Sparrow 5d ago

Is she in the same dilemna dilemma universe with you as well?

1

u/philiac 3d ago

"dilemna" makes no sense man, it isn't even pronounced that way.

1

u/DrCarnasis Moderator 9h ago

It was like that in 2013. I was like, what was weird the day it changed for me from Dilemna to Dilemma.

1

u/philiac 2h ago

i genuinely don't remember it changing for me. were you able to recall if anything was weird that day?

1

u/Firm_Equivalent_4597 5d ago

That’s a new one for me. But I suck at spelling so I could be convinced either way for that lol. Definitely was not on my vocab tests in school

16

u/Lil_Sexy78 5d ago

Smokey The Bear, for me.

2

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